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Open Orthodoxy is a stream of Orthodoxy that combines strict adherence to Jewish law with openness and flexibility on specific contemporary issues. The movement supports women’s inclusion in the Orthodox tradition, interaction with members of different faiths, interaction with members of other denominations of the Jewish faith, and an openness to creative and non-traditional interpretations of Jewish texts.
The Open Orthodox Haggadah touches on a number of the day’s hot-button issues in the Orthodox community. Subjects such as Kol Ishah (may a woman sing in front of men), the proper way for a woman to immerse in the mikvah when she is converting, and innovative readings of the Exodus story.
The Haggadah includes guest voices from prominent and original thinkers. Rabbi Asher Lopatin, President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, analyzes the passage, Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations. Michel Martin of NPR (National Public Radio, USA) shares her perspective on purchasing the chametz from the Jewish community every year.
Ruth Balinsky Friedman offers a call to include the voices of couples dealing with fertility challenges in our Seder narrative. And Rabbi Avi Weiss, the originator of the term Open Orthodoxy, offers an introduction to the principles of Open Orthodoxy and an essay on why Yitzchak is described in the Torah in a linguistic style that is similar to the way a person with Down Syndrome is described.
- Hardcover
- 160 pages
The Open Orthodox Haggadah
![Shmuel Herzfeld](https://www.israelcart.com/wp-content/themes/levhaolam/dist/images/plug.png)
Since 2004 Shmuel Herzfeld has been the Rabbi of Ohev Sholom – The National Synagogue, and the oldest Orthodox synagogue in Washington, DC.
His communal responsibilities include teaching classes, attending to the elderly, the youth, and the sick, and ministering to the congregation’s pastoral needs, with more than 300 families.
He received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary, an affiliate of Yeshiva University, and a Masters in Jewish History from Bernard Revel Graduate School of Yeshiva University.
From 1999 to 2004, Rabbi Herzfeld was Associate Rabbi at The Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, where Rabbi Avi Weiss mentored him.
He is a frequent guest columnist in newspapers and writes regularly for Huffington Post and The Washington Post.
Rabbi Herzfeld teaches a daily Talmud class in his synagogue, at least two other weekly Torah classes, a weekly Torah class in downtown Washington D.C. at the Hudson Institute (all are welcome to attend). He also teaches a regular class on Judaism at the U.S Senate.
He lives in Washington, DC, with his wife Dr. Rhanni Herzfeld (a Neurologist), and children Lea, Roey, Elai, Max, Shia, and Kolbi.